In the corridors of power and the digital town squares of the 21st century, a silent but devastating war is being waged against the women who dare to speak, lead, and report. According to a landmark report released today in Geneva, the escalation of online violence against women human rights defenders, activists, and journalists has reached what experts are calling a “tipping point.” This crisis no longer exists solely behind a glass screen; it has metastasized into a tangible, physical threat that jeopardizes the very foundations of democracy and free expression worldwide.
The report, titled “Tipping Point: The Chilling Escalation of Violence Against Women in the Public Sphere,” is the result of a high-level collaboration between UN Women’s ACT to End Violence against Women programme, the European Commission, and researchers from TheNerve, City St George’s, University of London, and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), with support from UNESCO. The findings paint a harrowing picture of the modern digital landscape: a staggering 70 per cent of women surveyed—all of whom work in the public eye as defenders of human rights, activists, or journalists—have been subjected to online violence.
Perhaps most alarming is the rapid erosion of the barrier between digital harassment and physical harm. The data reveals that 41 per cent of respondents have experienced offline repercussions directly linked to online abuse. For women in the media, this trajectory is even more vertical. In 2020, a UNESCO survey found that 20 per cent of women journalists experienced physical attacks or abuse stemming from online violence. Just five years later, that figure has more than doubled to 42 per cent.
“These figures confirm that digital violence is not virtual—it’s real violence with real-world consequences,” stated Sarah Hendricks, Director of the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division at UN Women. She emphasized that the targets are not chosen at random. The victims are women who challenge the status quo, report the truth, and lead social movements. The abuse is a calculated tool of “shame and silence,” designed to drive women out of the public debate entirely. “Increasingly, those attacks do not stop at the screen—they end at women’s front doors,” Hendricks warned.
The report highlights a disturbing evolution in the methods of harassment. As technology advances, so too do the weapons used by those seeking to intimidate women. Nearly one in four women surveyed reported being targeted by AI-assisted violence. This includes the creation of deepfake imagery—often of a sexualized nature—and manipulated content designed to destroy reputations and psychological well-being. For writers and public communicators, such as social media influencers who advocate for human rights, the risk is even higher, with 30 per cent reporting exposure to AI-driven attacks.
Professor Julie Posetti, the lead researcher and Director of TheNerve’s Information Integrity Initiative, pointed to a “dangerous and potentially deadly trajectory” fueled by rising authoritarianism and the weaponization of artificial intelligence. “What’s truly disturbing is the evidence that women journalists’ experience of offline harm associated with online violence has more than doubled since 2020,” Posetti noted. She described the current climate as one where “AI-fueled abuse” acts as a catalyst for physical violence, creating an environment where truth-tellers are constantly under siege.
The timing of the report coincides with the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, an annual international campaign that kicks off on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until Human Rights Day on December 10. This year, the global focus has been squarely on technology-facilitated violence. The campaign has called for a radical shift in how we perceive digital abuse, demanding that it be recognized not as a nuisance of the internet age, but as a fundamental human rights violation.
Central to this year’s advocacy is the demand for robust regulation and accountability for technology companies. For too long, social media platforms and tech giants have been criticized for providing the infrastructure for harassment while failing to provide adequate protection or recourse for victims. The “Tipping Point” report underscores the need for these companies to implement safety protocols and support systems that are specifically tailored to the needs of women human rights defenders and journalists.
In response to these findings, UN Women is launching a comprehensive corporate strategy aimed at preventing and eliminating technology-facilitated violence against women and girls. This strategy is built on several key pillars: strengthening accountability for perpetrators and platforms, closing the massive gaps in evidence and data, and accelerating survivor-centered responses. Crucially, the plan emphasizes building resilience within women’s rights movements and amplifying the voices of women leaders who are being targeted.
The ACT programme (Advocacy, Coalition Building and Transformative Feminist Action), which supported the research, represents a “game-changing” partnership between the European Commission and UN Women. Working alongside the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, ACT aims to elevate the priorities of feminist movements globally. By providing a collaborative framework, the programme seeks to ensure that the fight against gender-based violence is unified, strategic, and, most importantly, led by the voices of those most affected.
The broader implications of this escalation go beyond individual safety. When women are forced out of digital spaces, the public sphere loses essential perspectives. In many parts of the world, digital platforms are the primary venues for political discourse and community organizing. If these spaces become too dangerous for women to inhabit, the result is a significant democratic deficit. The silencing of journalists and activists limits the public’s access to information and weakens the ability of civil society to hold power to account.
The report also sheds light on the intersectional nature of these attacks. While all women in the public eye are at risk, those who belong to marginalized communities—including women of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women with disabilities—often face more frequent and more severe forms of abuse. This intersectional data is vital for informing evidence-based policies that do not leave the most vulnerable behind.
As the 16 Days of Activism draw to a close, the message from Geneva is clear: the status quo is unsustainable. The transition from online vitriol to physical violence represents a failure of current legal frameworks and platform policies. Addressing this crisis requires more than just better “reporting” buttons on social media; it requires an international commitment to treating digital violence with the same gravity as physical assault.
The organizations involved, including TheNerve—a digital forensics lab founded by Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa—are calling for immediate investment in research to monitor these trends in real-time. By understanding the “Information Integrity” landscape, researchers hope to stay one step ahead of the bad actors who use disinformation and harassment to undermine gender equality.
For the women on the frontlines—the reporters in conflict zones, the activists fighting for climate justice, and the human rights defenders challenging repressive regimes—the digital world is currently a minefield. The “Tipping Point” report serves as both a warning and a roadmap. It demonstrates that while the technology for abuse is evolving, the global movement for women’s safety and digital rights is also mobilizing to meet the challenge. The goal is a digital future where women can lead, speak, and exist without the shadow of violence looming over their screens—and their front doors.
